The truth about Wedding Photography...
Well there are a lot of truths to Wedding Photography... One truth being, why I won't or won't want to work for you. You might think "How can you say you can't work for someone? They chose you and your getting paid." Now for those of you reading, I write this to not discourage anyone from reaching out to me, I am a Wedding Photographer who LOVES shooting Weddings, I am writing this blog today because it has been an issue tugging at my heart for a while and I'd like to spread some word about it.
Some may think just because someone is a Wedding Photographer, we will say yes to any Wedding that comes about, but that is not the truth. I have declined Weddings a good handful of times because I did not fit their desires, nor did they fit my desires. Let me elaborate, I am a creative junky, whether this is behind a camera, behind a drumset, or in the kitchen making bad Christmas cookies. So, I naturally love being behind a camera and shooting for people's most beloved day! It truly is something special for to be able to gift someone my creative storytelling.
As I expand, I'll let you know some red flags that come about when I receive an inquiry... the first being "My family friend dropped out so..." this is a red flag because if someone's family friend was to do this, chances are the money the family friend would receive would be nothing compared to a professional, that's just a guarantee. the second red flag is "I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on photography..." this is a red flag because if you know me and my prices, I do not charge a ridiculous amount of money as if I am some Hollywood Photographer, I charge affordable premium prices within our market. The last red flag for me and it is the most difficult and frustrating one is "I am not looking for anything special..." this is the biggest red flag because it's almost as if you want me to photograph the most important day of your life, and not do a special job? That's like saying "John Legend, I want you to go on stage and sing "All of Me" but I don't want you to put your heart out into it" This is a huge insult to me as a photographer, and it is the biggest reason I will choose not to work with you.
So this was some harsh truth about Wedding Photography, unfortunately since our digital world has come out with DSLR's, anyone can call themselves a professional photographer with a new page on Facebook and all is dandy. Wedding Photography is the greatest gig in the world, but it's not 100% about the money, it's about finding the right clients and fully knowing not everyone is your potential client. So when your done reading this I hope it's not to discourage anyone, but I hope to get some true points across about my reasons for not working with a potential client. I believe part of being a professional is turning down the clients that aren't right for you and your business, not saying that people aren't worthy of my business but that some potential clients simply do not value my work. Part of being a professional is staying classy and staying premium all the way through and through. If you value photography, pay the premium price, if you value photography, want everything special, if you value photography, go with a professional photographer, because you will value the results till the day you roll over and die!
Thank you for reading, I am Topher Fischer, and I look forward to having the chance to work with you!!